FAYETTEVILLE -- For the past several weeks, Arkansas leaned on running back Michael Smith to carry the load. But when No. 19 Tulsa packed eight and nine defenders in the box intent on stopping Smith and the ground game Saturday, the Razorbacks had to change their plans.

Arkansas, which was held to 50 rushing yards, beat the Golden Hurricane 30-23 thanks to a passing attack that turned in one of its better efforts. Quarterback Casey Dick completed 25 of 38 passes for 385 yards. Tight end D.J. Williams and freshman Jarius Wright each went over the 100-yard receiving mark. And the Razorbacks had six pass plays of 20 yards or more.

“Offensively, we improvised and adjusted,” Arkansas coach Bobby Petrino said. “It went a little bit different than we thought. We thought we’d be able to run the ball, but they had a bunch of guys down there so we had to throw it.”

Arkansas’ success was obvious early. The Razorbacks scored a touchdown on their opening possession for the first time. They notched 17 points in the first quarter, which topped the 10 points they had scored in the previous eight games.

Dick — who won the Crip Hall Award presented to the top senior on Homecoming — fell two yards short of setting the school’s single-game passing mark held by Clint Stoerner, who threw for 387 yards against LSU in 1997. But Dick did turn in his third, 300-yard passing day of the season, which is the school’s single-season record.

“(Tulsa) did a good job stopping the run,” Dick said. “We just had to make plays throwing the ball. Guys made plays all over the field. They turned short passes into long yards.”

Wright caught two, 34-yard passes. Williams had 39- and 44-yard receptions. Receiver Lucas Miller also pulled down a 34-yard catch-and-run that helped the Hogs late in the game.

“We were watching them on film and knew if we were going to have a great chance of winning, the receivers and tight ends were going to have to step up,” Wright said.

The big plays couldn’t help the Razorbacks run away with the game, though. They still showed some shortcomings that nearly came back to haunt them in the fourth quarter. The Razorbacks struggled again to convert in short-yardage situations. They reached Tulsa’s 5 on two occasions in the first half, but had to settle for field goals. They turned the ball over on downs from Tulsa’s 16 in the third quarter.

Dick made a big mistake late in the fourth quarter, too, when Arkansas was in field goal range. He threw a pass intended for Greg Childs that was picked off by Roy Roberts with 3:04 left.

Tulsa sprinted downfield in the closing minutes and moved inside Arkansas’ 10, but couldn’t score. So in the end, Dick and the passing offense did more than enough to win.

“(Casey) had a good day and he made some good throws and he stood in there and moved the ball for us,” offensive coordinator Paul Petrino said. “He threw for 385 yards. That’s a pretty good day and he found a way to win.”